Some services provided via a client-server architecture require a client binary to be installed on the client systems. The client binary may facilitate communication between the client and the server and/or may operate as an agent of the service. For example, a backup server, such as an EMC® Avamar® server or an EMC® Networker® serve, may require a backup agent to be installed on each client system. In another example, a WAN accelerator solution may include a network-based accelerator appliance and client side code installed on WAN clients.
Client systems may be numerous, deployed across a wide area, and primarily under the control of administrative users other than those who administer the server with which the aforementioned client binaries are associated. As a result, under current approaches client side software may be upgraded without the knowledge of server administrators. Such upgrades may result in incompatibility with the current version of server software deployed at the server. Likewise, a server upgrade may result in incompatibility with client software on one or more client systems.
Under current approaches, an administrative user must check manually to determine whether upgraded client software will be compatible with associated servers and conversely that a server upgrade will be compatible with all clients. The current approach requires that the administrator know to perform such a check with respect to all of the clients and/or servers with which a system that is to be upgraded is associated, as well as how to perform such checks and obtain the compatibility information to be used to make such determinations.